the rebar of faith...

I'm not a construction guy... I don't build a lot things, I don't really work with my hands, I don't understand the physics or science of construction all that well, but one thing I know: Rebar is tough stuff... Rebar or reinforcing bar is that carbon steel bar placed in concrete structures to give it strength and stability. It's somewhat bendable but incredibly strong and is used in everything from foundations to walls to keep structures together.

Now, I always though concrete was pretty strong simply on its own, and it is, but it is made that much stronger by rebar. When really crazy elements come up against a building it is the rebar that keeps the concrete together. If a construction company neglects the rebar their can be disastrous results.

You know, often I forget that my faith needs that same sort of reinforcing bar. It needs that same material to keep it strong and to maintain its security when the elements of the daily grind start to where on it. But what is the rebar of faith?

When I thought about that I had to take into consideration that this thing has to be stable, it has to be consistent, it is not something that tests faith (though those sorts of things strengthen faith as well), but it is the foundation where faith rests. That led me to think of one thing: prayer.

I know what you're thinking... "My prayer life isn't always that consistent or stable. How can that be the rebar?"

Well, that's one key point. Just like the neglect of the reinforcing bar can have disastrous results on the integrity of a building, so can the neglect of prayer have a seriously negative impact on the integrity of one's faith.

1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.”Interlude

5 Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.
We went through fire and flood,
but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me. Psalm 66 (NLT)

Now, anyone reading this that remembers their Sunday School can probably pick up that this was written by Moses shortly after he and all of Israel ran from Pharaoh and Egypt... note the Red Sea reference... What's interesting is that this is a Psalm praising God, but also a Psalm that shows life isn't easy. Where does the joy of faith come from for Moses? Prayer. (see vs. 20).

Unlike some Christians, I don't believe your life is supposed to be easy or fun or somehow happier just because you are a Christian. In fact, the mark of God's people is suffering (but that's a post for another day). The strength of Christianity is that we have direct access to our God. He is a personal God who cares deeply for His children. So that when we pray, something extraordinary happens... God actually listens. And our sincere prayers of faith can actually have an impact on what God does.

21Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:21-22 (NIV)

How does that work exactly? To be honest... I don't know. But I know that faith and prayer go hand-in-hand, and there is something supernatural that happens when a faithful person prays to the Creator of All Things... He listens.

day 8...

It's been 8 days since the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (I have learned since my last post that this is, in fact, the proper way to write this), and what a fantastic week of competition... and, no, I'm not talking about that Phelps guy's 1/100th of a second victory to tie Mark Spitz's record for 7 gold medals in one Olympics, I'm not talking about Nastia Lukin and her gymnastic artistry or the fact that she had to compete against the pre-adolescent Chinese team, I'm not referring to the return to dominance of the US Men's basketball team (dubbed the Redeem Team... appropriate since this is a Christian blog), and I'm not even talking about my favorite sport, track and field with Bernard Legat, Lopez Lomong, Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, and the all the rest... no, for me the highlights of these Olympic games has come in the absolute ruling of the South Korean squad in archery and the rousing sets of women's doubles table tennis between Japan and Hong Kong... I told you I'm an Olympics junkie...

Now, the question you are asking yourself right now: "Really? Is he serious?"

Well, maybe not entirely... but I have watched more archery than swimming so far in these games, and even as I type this I am watching a table tennis match (in Mandarin Chinese, no less)... The question that will get you is: why? Why do I care so much about these "lesser" events?

Well, that's just it... they aren't "lesser" events... at least not as far as the spirit of the Olympics is concerned.

To me the Olympics represents such a perfect metaphor for our equality in God's economy, because while, Michael Phelps or Shawn Johnson might be more popular or famous to the viewing audience in terms of the Olympics they are the same as the archers from South Korea or the rowers from Great Britain... they are Olympians, plain and simple. And the cool thing is that a gold medal is a gold medal is a gold medal. I think that is so cool! I mean, all the gold medals look the same. They all have the same ribbon. And they are all awarded in the same way. Every gold medalist hears their country's national anthem played in their honor. The only difference is the event that is inscribed on the medals.

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29

In this passage, Paul is reassuring his readers that their standing before God is not based on their merit, or their social standing, or even their gender, it is based on the cross of Jesus. As a result, anyone who truly believes (and exactly what that means is a topic for another post) has the right to be called a child of God.

Far too often, we place pastors or worship leaders or those in public ministry on this pedestal as though that sort of service is the kind that everyone should attain to. We believe that those in public ministry will be sitting closer to the Lord when we get to heaven. But that is simply not the case. Just look at who Jesus honored. Fishermen, tax collectors, repentant prostitutes, poor widows, lepers, and the list goes on and on.

Now, don't get me wrong. Pastors, and teachers, and worship leaders are doing what God has called them to do. But God doesn't honor them because of the public aspect of that service. God honors anyone who puts their whole trust in Him and seeks to serve Him with the gifts, talents, and time they have.

Not every Olympian can be Michael Phelps. But every Olympian is an Olympian, and the gain that not because of the event in which they compete but by a heart and life that has been devoted to training and competition above others.

Those who put their trust in the Lord and devote their lives to Him are equal in His sight.

(The Japanese just staged a great comeback in women's doubles table tennis against Hong Kong by the way...)

the pomp and circumstance...

The Games of the 29th Olympiad began yesterday in Beijing, China with a spectacle of light and drama and technology unmatched by any opening games. There were presidents, prime ministers, athletes, and other dignitaries in attendance to witness the affair live, while those of us more than half a world away watched in taped delay. As I watched the preliminary coverage of the Olympics leading up to yesterday, I was struck by how little respect the games are garnering from the national media. They are a blip on the radar screen. Allegations of doping by athletes, the political strife surrounding China's government, the pollution, all have overshadowed the coverage leading to the opening ceremonies...

But for me the Olympics are special... no because of the international political implications... not because of the harmony they supposedly produce... no for me it reminds me the importance of competition for the sake of competition.

The first Olympics I have any memory of was the '88 Games in Seoul. Then '92 in Barcelona, '96 in Atlanta, and on and on... I remember names like Kerri Strug, Michael Johnson, the Dream Team, and the other celebrities that were born from those games... but I also remember watching the truly obscure sports... badminton, judo, beach volleyball, field hockey, rhythmic gymnastics... and the list goes on and on... I mean, these are sports I didn't know existed outside the Olympic games. Before I watched the Olympics I thought ping pong was little more than an adolescent basement game, but in the Olympics I found it was table tennis.

I have the sports that I really love to keep track of... track and field, basketball, soccer, gymnastics... but even now, at 28 I still find myself watching the weirdest things, simply because it is the Olympics. This morning, I found myself watching, now get this... women's team handball Angola v. France... seriously... It's the competition I love.

It may not seem like a very Christian thing to admire... sports and competition, but Paul saw Christian ministry very much in terms of competition...

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

This always begs the question for me: who are we competing against? Certainly not against other Christians... or other churches... and certainly not against God. The purest form of competition is the competition one feels against the self. I think that is what Paul is talking about here. We work, in the power of Christ, so that we will be qualified for the prize that Christ has already gained for us. Not to earn something, but to work for the glory of the one who had already earned it all on our behalf.

I heard a statistic during the opening ceremonies that really struck me. Something like 87% of all the countries that compete in the Olympics have never won an Olympic medal. Never. Now, I don't know where that statistic came from, and I can't back it up for myself, but even if it is only partially accurate then that means that the majority of the athletes that go all the way to China have little chance of standing on a podium... and even fewer of hearing their national anthems played for them. So, why do they go? Because they have trained and beat their bodies to gain a prize that comes from competing against themselves.

How much do we train ourselves for our Christian lives and ministry? Do we feel like we will gain the spiritual maturity we hope for just by falling into it? We have to foster a sense of competition in ourselves to build up our faith, so that when life comes at us with both fists we will be ready.